1992 Houston Astros season
| 1992 Houston Astros | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | The Astrodome |
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Record | 81–81 (.500) |
| Divisional place | 4th |
| Owners | John McMullen |
| General managers | Bill Wood |
| Managers | Art Howe |
| Television | KTXH HSE |
| Radio | KPRC (AM) (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Vince Controneo, Bill Worrell, Enos Cabell) KXYZ (Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra) |
The 1992 Houston Astros season was the 31st season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 28th as the Astros, 31st in the National League (NL), 24th in the NL West division, and 28th at the Astrodome, The Astros entered the season with a 65–97 record and in last place in the NL West, 29 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Atlanta Braves.
The season began for Houston on April 7 in which they hosted Atlanta, but were defeated, 2–0. Pete Harnisch was the Astros' Opening Day starting pitcher. The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was third baseman Phil Nevin, at first overall. Nevin was the Astros' second number-one overall pick, following Floyd Bannister in 1976.
Pitcher Doug Jones and second baseman Craig Biggio represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, This was the third career selection for Jones, and second for Biggio, who was previously selected as a catcher. Broadcaster Milo Hamilton, who began calling games for the Astros in 1985, was recognized for his work with the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Astros also retired the uniform numbers of outfielder José Cruz and right-handed pitcher Mike Scott.
Due to the Republican National Convention being hosted at the Astrodome from August 17–20, the Astros played 26 consecutive road games from July 27 through August 23, going 12–14 on the road trip. The club played in all National League cities except Montreal, New York City, and Pittsburgh.
In their first game back at The Astrodome on August 25 following the 28-day road trip, shortstop Andújar Cedeño hit for the cycle, the fourth in club history. The Astros won 25 of their final 38 games following the long road trip to finish at .500 (81–81), in fourth place in the NL West and 17 games behind the Braves, who repeated as division champions and NL pennant winners. This represented a 16-game improvement from the year prior for Houston. Hence, the 1992 season was the start of the longest period of consistent regular-season success in franchise history, where they finished at .500 or above in each of 15 of 17 seasons through 2008, and made the playoffs six times.
Following the season, Doug Jones was recognized with The Sporting News NL Fireman of the Year Award.